Dust to Dust
by Chibi Tidus
Summary: Something happens to Angel in LA, and Buffy contemplates what her life reallly mean w/o him. *rated for char death* plz R+R!


Dust to Dust.  
  
The vampire ran quickly down the narrow alleyway in downtown L.A. The man in the black jacket was pursuing him. The vampire with a soul was hunting him down. With strength unknown to normal humans, Angel slammed his escapee into the brick wall of the alleyway. The vampire tried to retaliate, but to no avail. Angel had his mind set on this kill.there was no stopping him. Maybe he had his mind set on this one kill almost too much, for he didn't notice the other shape behind him. A large lead pipe slammed against Angel's back, forcing him to drop his prey and fall forward to one knee. Spinning on his attacker, he got another blow to his face with the pipe. The other vampire ran down the alleyway, running from the group that had set him free. One man stepped forward, pulling off his mask. An ugly grotesque vampire face stared at Angel. He had a mark of a six-pointed star on his forehead. He reared back; Angel had seen this mark before.long, long ago. Another cloaked form appeared behind him. He felt temporary pain as something ripped through the clothing on his back, cutting into his skin. The stake hit its mark. Angel, calling softly out to anybody, slid to the ground, and exploded into dust.  
  
Buffy slammed a vampire into the ground, driving a stake in as well. The two moves she had learned o do simultaneously over the past five and a half years have greatly benefited her. Spinning on her heels, she kicked another vampire in the face. He went sailing across the air and smacked with a hollow thud against a tombstone. The vampire picked itself up and tackled Buffy. She tried to dive out of the way, but a sudden feeling wrenched itself in her gut. She pitched forward, into the path of the diving vampire. It hit her fully and knocked them both to the ground, writhing in agony. She clutched at her side. What is happening? She thought as she sweep kicked the vampire as he tried to stand up. She whipped out another stake, having lost her first one when she fell, and yelled at the vampire, "Prepare to face Mr. Pointy!" The vampire gave a quizzical look then lunged forward again, but Buffy was too quick. She pulled the stake up just in time to catch the monster in the heart. As Buffy was leaving the graveyard, a figure stepped out of the shadows. Spike looked just as tall and evil as always, and this time he had a bit of blood on his forehead. "These things sure are tough," he muttered, looking down at a pile of dust. "Nasty little buggers." "Spike. What're you doing here?" "Helping you, duh!" Buffy threw him a disgusted look. "I don't need your help, Spike. Go away." She turned around and ran deeper into the graveyard. Spike followed. "So what do u s'pose that mark was on their forehead?" "Leave me alone, Spike. I'm warning you." The slayer growled. She stomped off into the night, leaving a perplexed vampire staring after her.  
  
After a week of slaying demons, Buffy arrived home to find the house empty. Willow was wherever she went, and Dawn was out with Tara. Buffy sat down on the couch and looked around for a moment. Thinking about calling Xander and seeing if he wanted to do something, she got up and headed for the phone. A knock at the door stopped her just before she picked it up. Maybe Xander had got the idea before she did. It would be a first if he were ahead of her. Opening the door revealed Cordelia, a person she hadn't seen for the past couple years. "Cordy! Hey! What're you doing here?" Buffy called cheerfully as she stepped back and made room for Cordelia to enter. She did, but looked rather solemn. "Uh." "What is it?" "It's Angel. Something's happened." Buffy stepped back. She knew what was coming, but she asked anyways: "What happened?" Cordelia put her hand on Buffy's shoulder in the most comforting way she knew how. "I'm sorry." Tears welled up in both their eyes. Buffy broke eye contact and backed against the wall. Slowly, quietly, she slid down to the hard wooden floor. When she hit the bottom, the tears came. Another figure came into the house, followed by a third. She recognized Wesley, the Watcher she had had right before she quit the Council. He looked worn, but looser than he had been then when Buffy had last seen him. The other man was black; she had never seen him before. "I'm Gunn." He said, "A friend of Angels." "Buffy," Wesley said, "are you okay?" "No, I can't believe this." Buffy said through the tears. "Neither can we, but we have to be strong. "He can come back can't he? I mean, he's come back before. So he can come back again?" Buffy pleaded, looking from person to person, searching their eyes for an answer. "No, I don't think he can this time. He was dusted by a vampire cult. I can't believe this either." Cordelia replied. Buffy swam in memory. She saw her, standing in a mausoleum, getting ready to go into the sewers. Angel appeared from the shadows, handed her a necklace with a cross on it, and wished her luck. Later, they were in bed, and he left in the middle of the night. He had lost his soul, and joined the forces of darkness once again. Then he had gotten his soul back, but not in time. Buffy remembered clearly how the sword when through him, sending him to a hell dimension. He came back several months later, just a cowering animal. She had nursed him back to health, and then he left for L.A. She hadn't seen him much since. Wesley took her hand from her knee and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, now, we have to stick together. Be strong." Buffy looked up into his eyes. She looked like she thought he was mad. "What do you mean, 'be strong'? How am I supposed to be strong at a time like this? Tell me!" The quartet of people stood there gazing around at each other, trying to avoid eye contact, but it couldn't be avoided. Silence filled the room, creeping upon each of them, enveloping them. It became a thick wall, separating them all. The door opening shattered it. Tara stepped through, Dawn close in tow. They were giggling, but became silent when they saw the grim expressions on their faces. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Dawn said, looking around nervously. "Dawn, come on." Tara told her, pulling her by the arm. "No, stay." "But-" Tara started, but Buffy silenced her by raising a hand. "Angel died.how long ago?" "A week today." Wesley told her, looking at the ground. Buffy started. She looked back and forth, from the grimness of her friends to her floor. She remembered when her stomach hurt while she was fighting that vampire in the graveyard. When her vampire love had died he had taken something from her. She missed him. "What?" Dawn screamed. "Oh my God." Tara whispered quietly. "I need to go away for a second. I'll be back soon. You guys are free stay here if you want to." Buffy said, and headed for the door. Cordelia grabbed her arm as she walked past. "Buffy," she asked, making eye contact, "are you gonna be all right?" Looking melancholy, she replied: "I'm not real sure." She shook off Cordy's arm and left, closing the door behind her. The sun was setting in the distance.  
  
The mansion stood on the side of the road, looking dark and unwelcoming. It had been abandoned now for a long time. No living person had been it's resident for as long as anyone can remember. It was, however, Angel's home when he had stayed here in Sunnydale. Buffy walked up to it, apparently afraid to go any further. She used to love this old house, but now she wasn't so sure. It was the first place she had seen him after he came back from the Hell dimension. Now this seemed like the only place that she would ever see him again, if she did. She knelt down in front of the gigantic hearth, and lowered her head. After a long time of sitting there, she got up and decided that this wasn't going to help, Buffy stood up and looked around. "I need you." she whispered. As she was looking into the hearth, it suddenly caught flame, and soon a fire was blazing peacefully in it. Not even stunned or startled in the slightest, Buffy said: "Hey Will." Willow Rosenberg emerged from the doorway. "How you coping?" Buffy turned to face her friend. "Not very well. How'd you know that I'd be here?"  
  
"It figured." Willow shrugged and crossed the room to be at her friend's side. "I knew how much you -and he- had loved this old place. It just seemed right that you'd want to come back here." "I know, but I just can't believe that he's gone." Willow put a comforting hand around her friend's shoulders. "We'll all work out." "I don't know if I will." Buffy started crying softly again. This time it seemed as though the tears had no end. The pair stood there for a long time, Buffy crying into her best friend's shoulder. At long last, Willow felt she needed to end this. It was past midnight. Not wanting it to end so quickly -she felt Buffy needed some more time- but Dawn and the others were waiting for her back at the house. "Buffy, we should head back now." Willow stated. "Everyone's waiting for us." "I know, but." Buffy's voice trailed off. She couldn't find words to express how she felt right then, she felt like she wanted to curl up in a tight ball and die, for there was nowhere else to go. It felt like the world was going to end, and she was on the verge of the endless void in which she was soon to be enveloped in. Buffy turned to Willow. "You go. You still have a future. Tell everyone that I love them, and I always will." "Buffy?" "No, Willow. Go." "We can't lose you again." "Please, go." "But why?" "There's no other way. I know it has to be like this in the end. It always has to be like this in the end." "But Buffy-" "Everything ends the same way. It always ends in death. Some just ends before everyone else's." Willow, realizing she didn't have a chance against Buffy when she had her mind set on something, left slowly. "No." Buffy waited until her friend had left before turning back to the fire. "Ashes to ashes." she said, stepping into the flames. As the flames incased her body, she said one last sentence: "Dust to dust."  
  
  
  
Kyle Sciamanna 


End file.
